This afternoon the Canucks signed 6,5 winger Byron Bitz; the former Bruin, Panther and Cornell Big Red's deal is two-way, one year contract. You can check out the official media release here.

Strangely enough, the teams official roster on the website was updated before the media release came through. Bitz appeared in 52 games in 2009/2010 for the Bruins and Panthers and was traded for Dennis Seidenberg, in what can only be described as a Dale Tallon special. He missed the entire 2010/11 campaign with a sports-hernia. In 87 career NHL games Bitz has 18 points off nine goals and nine assists.

Over his career Bitz has been a pretty run of the mill fourth liner, though his possession stats, and scoring rate indicate some potential upside. He also draws more penalties than he takes, which, is something I (unlike Steve Tambellini) like to see from a hulking fourth line winger. If he's in shape and healthy he'll provide the Canucks with the size they require and hopefully slightly better hands than the likes of Tanner Glass. He joins Duco, Pinozotto and Oreskovich in the battle at camp for a fourth line wing spot, and it's a pretty safe bet that he'll see time in both the AHL and the NHL this season.

Bonus: Byron Bitz has, on occasion, been known to Vlog (stick-tap to Sarah Connors). Check it out:

Thomas Drance lives in Toronto, eats spicy food and writes about hockey. He is the editor in chief of the Nation Network (a.k.a Overlord), and an opinionated blowhard to boot. You can follow him on twitter @thomasdrance.

I've seen a few Canucks fans on twitter hoping that he's the big winger we've all been hoping for to play with Kesler. While I think that's preposterous (he hasn't been a point producer at any level) I really like the idea of four big guys (five counting Volpatti) duking it out at camp for a spot on the roster...

That's sometimes a common reaction when a team is looking to fill space X. Whenever the Flames would acquire someone new for years, the talk would be "he should play with Jarome". Jeff Friesen, for example, was penciled in to the first line by most the year he was signed.